The majority of churches in the world say the Creed in some form every Sunday, two of them in particular, the Apostles’ Creed and the more elaborate Nicene Creed. It is part of the liturgy and reminds us of our core beliefs and the reason why we are in church.
The question ‘Why?’ can be answered in different ways. The answer to the question, ‘why were they written’, is steeped in church history. The need for some formulation of what it meant to be, or become, a Christian, would have become obvious as Christianity spread through the Middle East and north Africa.
Inevitably there would have been influences of other dominant cultures and philosophies on Christian thought. Legend has it that the Apostles themselves gathered together and agreed on a statement, only to find as time went on, that they were adding their own clauses to the agreed statements! It is more likely that Apostles’ Creed as we now know it was written around 200 AD.
The questions asked of Baptism candidates about their beliefs probably started in the Second Century, and pretty well represents the Apostles’ Creed (see page 16 for the full text):
Do you believe in God the Father? Do you believe in Christ Jesus the Son of God...? Do you believe in the Holy [Ghost], the holy church and the resurrection of the body?
The Nicene Creed, in contrast, is far more elaborate, and while it no doubt clarified how to avoid many of the heresies of that time, is probably baffling to many of us. For example, Jesus is described as “eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made.” The church fathers meeting in Council in Nicea, in late 4th Century, agreed on these words to counter debate about the nature of Jesus (truly human and truly divine), whether Jesus existed with the Father from the beginning and so forth. The saying, ‘Why use one word if ten will do?’ comes to mind when comparing the Nicene Creed to the Apostles’ Creed!
The Nicene Creed became part of the Eucharistic liturgy at different times in different churches. For example it was only in the 11th Century that the Catholic church adopted it in its liturgy. The miracle is that 1,600 years after its formulation, the churches throughout the world use it as their statement of faith. There are minor differences in the way different churches phrase them, a well – known one being the ‘single’ or ‘double procession’ (also known as the filioque clause). The orthodox churches say ‘I believe in the Holy Ghost who proceedeth from the Father’ whilst other churches have, ‘the Holy Ghost who proceedeth from the Father and the Son’.
But why do we say the Creed week by week in our liturgy? It is a renewal and a reminder of the credal statement made at our baptism into Christ’s body, the Church. And it is as part of that calling that we take part in the Eucharist.
The Anglican church has moved from saying We believe to I believe and back again. In one sense it is a ‘cop out’ to say we rather than I. In another sense, it roots us. Each of us is precious and answerable to God, but it is within the context of the church and all believers that our faith finds strength and support.
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